My head just wrapped around something that has been bothering me ever since our country was turned upside down by the takeover of the GOP, the election of Donald Trump, and mass shootings at schools. I will present some strong reasons why I think I have cracked the egg.
Barack Obama represented everything that would change, for the white male ego, within the conservative hierarchy of American society. Why? He showed three things that weren’t acceptable behavior by the white male. Compassion, humility, and vulnerability.
Example one was his response to the Harvard professor’s, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., run in with the police where he was believed to be a burglar in his own home. As a black intellectual man this incident seemed ludicrous to him, and it had the capacity to escalate the race wars all over again. President Obama interceded into this volatile arena dowsing the fire with compassion for the police officer, humility instead of anger for his race, and vulnerability by reaching out his hand to both Gates and the police by having a sit down and a beer. The beer was genius, because it masked the attack on white malehood. But, it was step one.
The conservative white malehood was on notice. His world was being attacked and he did not like it one bit. No one could really define this phenomenon, but it was a feeling rocked to its core. Example two was the school shootings under President Obama’s watch where he had the audacity to cry in front of the nation and the world. Compassion, humility, and vulnerability. Compare those speeches to President Clinton’s in 1999 on the Columbine shooting and you see male behavior change. This is important for two reasons, first we are starting to underestimate the influence the Presidential presence represents, and second this shift did not come from a white male president, it came from a black one.
With this scenario, it’s not hard to see the rise of Donald Trump and racism. What has been his response to school shootings? Would you see emotion of any kind, other than anger? Does this represent the white conservative male ego? Hell yes! He makes them feel comfortable and back in their place of superiority.
Let’s talk guns. What does the gun represent to the conservative white male? You got it…his maleness, his member, his penis. What are you seeing today in this conservative community? Bigger guns, bigger trucks, and more blatant in your face racism by white males, eerily similar to the Jim Crow era. Now, let’s not leave out the women who stand by their men. Recently, you saw a young, pretty blond woman stand up for her right to carry at, none other than, Kent State University where the shooting of protestors during the Vietnam War happened. This is blatant, in your face, fight back for white rights. She received many marriage proposals from, you guessed it, conservative guys all a gaga. Think about it! This is clean porn for the conservative white male. She’s holding his….in adoration!
Let’s talk about aggressive police on video, let’s talk about aggressive, in your face racist attacks on immigrants. Let’s talk about black church burnings. Shall I go on…
Aaron Schlossberg is an aha moment. This man is a conservative white male, upper crust, educated, busy NYC lawyer who has been raging all through the city verbally attacking, what he assumes are illegal immigrants. He doesn’t fit the liberal stereotype of a southern, truck owning, uneducated bigot. Everyone is shocked. I am not. I’ve been seeing this a lot recently. White males with money, privilege, and education who see their macho world changing dramatically. We have a lot going on, folks! I can guarantee you Mr. Schlossberg was probably a guy who gawked at woman openly on the streets, possibly visited strip clubs, etc. Sorry, to be stereotypical here, but many times you have no choice. The world has changed dramatically around this type of guy and they are steaming mad, but really don’t know why.
We have a problem, US citizens! Until we acknowledge what is happening, figure out a way to convince the conservative white male his world is changing for the better, not the worse, we are on a collision course for war and devastation. Anger, personified in positions of power is not a good thing! I find myself angry a lot, too, these days.
So, this is more than just about race, this is more than just about school shootings. We can stop the school shootings when we convince these guys they have a place if they understand how to change, and that our children are much more important and worth their sacrifice. We can poor water on the fire over race by addressing difficult issues of inequality, that they continue to say don’t exist. We have to find a way for them to see it. Getting the conservative voices to listen, instead of feeling attacked is key here. I CLEARY don’t have the answers for how to do that, but we must dialog and find ways to honor this country’s good and it’s ugly bad and help all to understand we cannot do good without acknowledging the evils of the past and present. There are dramatic acknowledgements of inequality that must be accepted and understood by the conservative mind or it will have closed forever. They have a choice to adapt or attack. Right now they are on the attack, and no ability to open up to change.
We can’t do this until we can convince everyone that the amount of “slouches” in the world is so very small and doesn’t not represent any whole (compassion, humility, and vulnerability). Punishing the poor is never a good scenario and will never validate your view of how hard you have worked to get ahead (compassion, humility, and vulnerability). Depression is a huge deal for those that constantly face PTSD type living/survival lives because of disgustingly low wages. Their TV world never represents them anymore. That's a huge problem! We’ve got to find a way to stop the abuse of money addiction that feeds the beasts at the top. We’ve got to find a way to show them the amazing value of thinking of others, giving back to society as a great thing to be admired(compassion, humility, and vulnerability). I know…. sounding Pollyanna here. I’m a realist, and know it’s not going to be easy and we won’t get utopia. Somehow, we have to come together and figure this out. Please…….
I wish I had the ability of the black man who goes to KKK/racist meetings and talks to white angry men who really don’t know why they are doing what they do in anger. Or the guy, who at a protest, embraces the angry guy on the other side and says, “I love you, man!” I wish we had the ability to raise up men like these as heroes to emulate instead of wealthy, spoiled, privileged men who have had everything given to them to help them succeed. Their success is no more surprising than the sun rising.
Ok…time to find my flame-retardant suit!
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